DAY 1 Saturday

FLIGHT TO TEL AVIV

Flight to Tel Aviv Overnight flight to Tel Aviv, Israel. Get ready to enjoy one of the best tours you have ever had in your lifetime. IBMT, with its own operations office in Jerusalem is dedicated to give you personal service to each and every one of you.

DAY 2 Sunday

WELCOME TO THE HOLYLAND

Upon your arrival to Ben Gurion Airport you will be met and assisted by our IBMT - Holyland Tours representative and transferred to your hotel for check in. If time permits, stroll and explore the shops and cafes of Tel Aviv, known as "The city that never sleeps" Dinner & Overnight in Tel Aviv.

DAY 3 Monday

CAESARIA / MUHRAKA / MEGIDDO / HAIFA / ACRE

Following a delicious Israeli buffet breakfast (which you will enjoy each morning prior to departing for your day of touring), depart Tel Aviv. Drive north along the coastal plain on your way to Caesarea, capital of Judea under the Romans. (In AD 6 Judea became part of a larger Roman province, called Iudaea, which was formed by combining Judea proper (biblical Judah) with Samaria and Idumea, biblical Edom). Visit the excavations of this ancient city, the Roman theater and aqueduct. Proceed to Muhraka, the site of confrontation between Elijah and the prophets of Baal; enjoy the spectacular view of the Jezreel valley and the lower Galilee. Continue to Megiddo identified as the site of Armageddon. Visit the archaeological excavations at Megiddo, including the well-preserved water supply system. Drive to the beautiful port city of Haifa, nestled on the Mediterranean Sea. Visit the world famous Persian Gardens at the Bahai Temple. From Haifa, drive to Acre, capital of the Crusaders for more than a century. Visit the ancient city and harbour before continuing eastwards across the beautiful plains of the Galilee. Dinner & Overnight in Kibbutz Lavi

DAY 4 Tuesday

TIBERIAS / CAPERNAUM / BANIAS

After a short tour of the Kibbutz grounds you will enjoy a boat ride across the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, where it is believed to have been Jesus' home. Visit the remains of the 2nd century synagogue. Proceed to Tabgha, the traditional site of the Miracle of the Multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes and the fourth resurrection appearance of Jesus in Christianity. Visit the Church of Multiplication with its 4th century mosaic floor. Continue to the Mount of the Beatitudes, where Jesus delivered the Sermon on the Mount. Drive to the Banias Spring and Waterfall, where Jesus was recognized as The Messiah by His Disciples. Tour the Golan Heights, with its beautiful valleys, captivating grazing land and snow capped mountains. Return to Kibbutz Lavi for Dinner and Overnight.

DAY 5 Wednesday

CANA / NAZARETH / BEIT SHEAN

Drive to Cana to visit the Wedding Church, where Jesus performed his first miracle turning water into wine. Continue to Nazareth, visit the Church of Annunciation, St. Joseph's workshop and Mary's well ("The spring of the Virgin Mary" is reputed to be located at the site where the Angel Gabriel appeared to Mary and announced that she would bear the Son of God). Continue on to Yardenit, the baptismal site along the Jordan river; You will Visit Beit She'an, a newly excavated city, and visit the Roman theater. Ancient Beit She'an is one of the most impressive Roman and Byzantine sites in Israel. Enjoy an evening ride along the beautiful Jordan river, passing Jericho as well on our way to the golden city Jerusalem. Dinner & Overnight in Jerusalem

DAY 6 Thursday

JERUSALEM : OLD CITY

Today we visit the Old City of Jerusalem. Our appreciation of this Golden City begins with a panoramic view from the Mount of Olives, overlooking the walls of the old city and the ancient Jewish cemetery. Enter the Old City to begin exploring the wonders of Jerusalem. Visit the Church of all Nations, which is also known as the Church or Basilica of the Agony, a Roman Catholic church located on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem, next to the Garden of Gethsemane. It enshrines a section of bedrock where Jesus is said to have prayed before his arrest. Walk through the Cardo, the main street of Jerusalem 2000 years ago. View the Temple Mount and the Western Wall. Take a spiritual walk along the Via Dolorosa, where Jesus carried His Cross, continue to the Church of the Holy Sepulchre. No visit to Jerusalem is complete without a exploring the colorful Arab bazaar (a chance to test your negotiating skills). Visit the Garden Tomb that is considered by some Christians to be the site of the burial and resurrection of Jesus. Dinner & Overnight in Jerusalem.

DAY 7 Friday

JERUSALEM : NEW CITY / EIN KAREM / BETHLEHEM

Today you will get an appreciation of the new city of Jerusalem and its beautiful sites... Visit the model of ancient Jerusalem. Proceed to Yad Vashem, Israel's official memorial to the Jewish victims of the Holocaust, established in 1953. Enter the site by walking along the Street of the Righteous Gentiles, dedicated to the non-Jews that risked their lives in order to save their Jewish neighbors. Continue to Ein Karem, birthplace of John the Baptists. This Spanish style church and Mary's well is where Mother Mary met her cousin Elizabeth. Visit the city of Bethlehem to view the Church of the Nativity. The church was originally commissioned in 327 AD by Constantine and his mother Helena over the site that is still traditionally considered to be located over the cave that marks the birthplace of Jesus of Nazareth. Conclude the day with Dinner & Overnight in Jerusalem.

DAY 8 Saturday

QUMERAN / DEAD SEA / MASADA

Morning departure to Qumran, the location where the Dead Sea scrolls where found in 1947 by a Bedouin boy. Visit the ancient city of Qumran and drive along the shore of the Dead Sea, the lowest place on earth, to your next destination Masada, the last stronghold of the Jews after the destruction of the second temple in 70 A.D. Ascend 1500 feet to Masada by cable car and visit the food storeroom, water irrigation system and Herod's palace. Descend by cable car. If Time and weather permits, you will have the opportunity to Float in the Dead Sea. Its surface and shores are 423 metres (1,388 ft) below sea level, Earth's lowest elevation on land. Return to Jerusalem for Dinner & Overnight.

DAY 9 Sunday

DEPART TEL AVIV

Enjoy your breakfast at the hotel before check out and transfer to the airport for your departure back home. Aboard the transatlantic flight, with time to think about your exciting visit and memories for lifetime, you can start planning your next visit to Israel! Arrive back home the same day.

Testimonials

We recently returned from a IBMT Tour for our son’s Bar Mitzvah and we all agree that it was the best vacation that we have taken to date. The tour was well organized and the staff were friendly and very knowledgeable. The events that they include in the tour include everything “must see” in Israel and activities that will make you laugh, cry, and everything in between. The tour allows for activities for all ages and accommodates anyone who wants to do more or less than they have planned. It is ...

Michael Rodney, Toronto, Canada

To Ornan and IBMT Tours staff,

We just got back from tour with IBMT for our Bat Mitzvah Tour in Israel.

We are so glad we have chosen the right company for our tour as I can’t express my words of how wonderful this tour company was, starting before we left, the personal service they showed here back home and later the service in Israel with our great tour guide Natalie who was so informative on every place we went and what we saw. It was so wonderful to listen to a ...

Chana Pulvermacher, Brooklyn, NY - 2017

Ornan,

Thank you very much for the IBMT Bat Mitzvah tour we just completed. We had a fabulous time & there were lots of special little parts from the tour that contributed to that. The different experiences for dinner were very special, and I liked the variety of different types of sites/attractions. Our tour guide Natalie was excellent, and I heard good things from the other group about their guide Liat.

Thanks again

Adam Waese, OSHAWA, ONT

9 Days Holyland Tour

Sara / Ornan,

I had a fabulous time on this tour and highly recommend it to anyone interested. We had an especially knowledgeable guide with us Doron Hoffman who as a history major added so much more information and had a great demeanor. I was part of an international group and made some new friends.

Regards,

Janie Carpenter, US Embassy Moscow

Hi Ornan,

"Opting to celebrate our son's bar mitzvah this summer with IBMT is one of the best decisions we've ever made. The itinerary took us to places around the country that I've never experienced on previous trips to Israel. Experiencing our son's bar mitzvah atop Masada as opposed to a more rushed, crowded experience at the wall truly sets IBMT apart from other tour companies. The professionalism of the IBMT staff both in North America and Israel was superb...everything was incredibly well organized and we were heartened ...

David M Zimmerman, Jericho, NY - 2017

Bar Mitzvah Tour in Europe

Hi Ornan

We just returned from our trip this afternoon. We had a wonderful time and our trip was seamless! All three guides were great and drivers were professional as well.Thanks for putting together the Siddur. It will be such a nice memento.

One quick question-is there a way to forward an additional tip on to Budapest guide Agi Antal? Is it best to deal with her directly or can I send you a check to be given to ...